Universal Service
Perhaps no policy concern is more important to the deployment and sustainability of advanced communications networks in rural America than universal service. In rural areas where distance, density and topography create unique challenges, NTCA members employ an essential mix of strong community commitment, entrepreneurial spirit, access to capital and ongoing support through federal universal service programs to advance and sustain broadband in their communities.
What is the Universal Service Fund?
The idea that all Americans should have reliable access to communications services at a reasonable cost has been a national objective for over a century. Today, the federal Universal Service Fund (USF) enables providers to deliver voice and broadband services to rural users that are comparable in price and quality to those available in urban areas, makes services more affordable for low-income families, and supports critical connections for schools, libraries and healthcare facilities in rural communities.
Why is Universal Service Support Important?
Promoting a predictable and sufficient federal USF is a top policy priority for NTCA, our members, and the communities they serve. Without USF support, it is difficult to make a business case to invest in many rural areas, to sustain networks once they are built, or to keep service rates affordable.
According to a March 2025 survey of nearly 270 NTCA members from across 44 states, the loss of USF support could be catastrophic for rural consumers, efforts to keep investing in broadband deployment and the viability of existing rural broadband networks:
- Respondents reported receiving an average of more than $70 per month per broadband subscriber in USF support to help recover their invested capital, repay loans and cover operating expenses. If this support were lost, it could cause rural consumers’ rates to be more than double what the average urban consumer pays for comparable services.
- Nearly two-thirds of respondents said they would need to cancel network deployment projects in 2026 and 2027, equaling nearly $1.6 billion in total investment and representing nearly 85% of planned investment for the next few years – depriving unserved and underserved rural Americans of better access to broadband.
- And 67% of respondents said they have outstanding debt for prior broadband network deployments – a significant portion of which includes loans from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) – and over 60% of this debt could be at risk of default in the next several years if USF were eliminated.
How is the USF funded?
The USF is paid for by contributions from certain service providers based on an assessment of interstate and international telecommunications service and telecommunications revenues. However, as traditional telecommunications services such as landline phones decline, the assessment on the remaining consumers of those services increases, resulting in a disproportionate and regressive burden on those consumers—even as the size of the fund has not increased over the past decade. And often those consumers are not the most significant users of services or underlying networks supported by the USF. Some of the largest and most profitable internet-based enterprises depend upon rural broadband networks for delivery of video streaming content and other applications, but they do not contribute to the recovery of the costs of deploying and operating these underlying networks.
To achieve and sustain core statutory and related public policy objectives related to universal service, it is essential that policymakers ensure that contribution responsibility is shared reasonably and equitably among all users and beneficiaries of the services and networks that the USF seeks to promote and sustain.
What role does Congress play?
Congress plays an important role in overseeing the administration of the USF, including how it’s funded. A bipartisan group of lawmakers from the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives has created a USF Working Group to update the USF and ensure these programs can build upon and continue their good work. In addition, several bills have been introduced in the 118th and 119th Congress that NTCA supports.
The Reforming Broadband Connectivity Act, S. 975 (Sens. Klobuchar, Thune, Hickenlooper, Moran) and H.R. 1812 (Reps. Neguse, Fletcher, Craig, Rogers, Grothman, Gallagher) from the 118th Congress would direct the FCC to reform the USF contribution system within one year by expanding the contribution base, while considering the relative fairness of proposed reforms. The FAIR Contributions Act, S. 856 (Sens. Wicker, Lujan, Young, Kelly) from the 118th Congress would direct the FCC to study the current and projected data transmission demands on rural broadband networks and the costs to rural broadband providers for transmitting data. The Lowering Broadband Costs For Consumers Act, S.1651 (Sens. Mullin, Kelly, Crapo, Cramer) and H.R. 4032 (Reps. Feenstra, Leger Fernandez), which has been introduced in the 119th Congress, would direct the FCC to reform the USF contribution system so that broadband providers and edge providers contribute to the system.
What is the 'Broadband Built to Last' campaign?
The NTCA “Broadband Built to Last” advocacy campaign engages small, community-based broadband providers, their employees and communities, policymakers and industry leaders in conversations on the importance of the Universal Service Fund (USF) to getting and keeping rural consumers connected to high quality, affordable services.
